Comparative Study of Malva parviflora and Antibiotics on Biofilm Formation of klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates

Background: The spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) poses a major health threat negatively impacting both young and elderly age groups. Objective: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of K. pneumoniae infections among hospitalized patients, and to determine the sensitivity of the bacteria to common antibiotics. Estimate the MIC and Sub MIC for some antibiotics used in treatment of K. pneumoniae infections. Also, study the effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Malva parviflora on biofilm formation. Methods: The clinical samples under study taken from 90 patients , who visited or were admitted to Baqubah Teaching Hospital in Diyala. Results: The results showed that biofilm formation was obtained in 13 K. pneumoniae isolates, and antibiotic susceptibility testing against isolates, high resistance to most of the 14 antibiotics used in this study It is noteworthy that the isolates recorded 100% resistance to Ampicillin and Cefotaxime. Sub MIC and MIC of Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole which ranged from 4 to 1024 µg. While the results showed that the aqueous and alcoholic extracts various in effectiveness against the bacterial isolates, the alcoholic extracts showed higher effectiveness, with the diameter of the inhibition zone reaching 30mm against the isolates. This effect is attributed to the high efficiency of alcoholic extracts in extracting chemical compounds with antibacterial activity. Conclusion: In conclusion, the medicinal efficacy of M. parviflora extracts can be attributed to the presence of active compounds. Our results showed that the extracts have a biological activity against the formation of biofilms of the clinical isolates studied, which indicates the possibility of using these extracts in the treatment of infectious diseases